Firsts
by SalemAnderson
Summary: A series of interconnected one shots focusing on some of the firsts in the lives of Beca and Jesse. Chapter 2: At Jesse's request, Beca attempts to step out of her comfort zone for Christmas. M for sexytimes (in chapters 1 and 2, at least).
1. First Time for Everything

Firsts

Story 1: First Time for Everything

It was a strange thing for someone who had always been independent and had never relied upon another person for anything in her short life to accept the fact that she actually needed someone. And not just someone, but him. You know those kinds of guys who come across as annoying at first but then start to grow on you like a fungus, and before you realize it they're so much a part of you that you can't find where you stop and they begin anymore? Yeah, Jesse Swanson is one of those guys. And Beca Mitchell was completely infected with him.

After deciding that she had been a complete idiot for not realizing that he was exactly the right guy for her, and then losing him because of her previous stupidity and the way she'd been treating him by pushing him away, she realized that she had to do something big if there was any chance of getting him back. She had no clue what that was until Aubrey, of all people, presented her with the perfect opportunity. She used it to her advantage while still creating the set and put in something she hoped would help put her back in his good graces.

Seeing him backstage before he went onstage to perform, she nearly lost her nerve. His face held no emotion as he looked at her and she felt her heart break in her chest as she realized that she had lost him. "Good luck," she'd said and she meant it. She realized then that she just wanted him to be happy, to see that smile that used to be present on his face no matter what, even if that was only possible with her out of his life for good. She'd do it so he could be happy again. But she really hoped that he could be happy with her, because she wanted to be with him.

When the Trebles finished, they left the stage and she was happy that they had finally let Benji in even if it did mean there was even hotter competition from their rivals now. Benji deserved it and it was the right thing to have done, especially given what Bumper had done to the rest of the guys. She was certain it was Jesse's doing. And it made her love him even more. Wait. Love? As she watched him take his seat while the announcer was introducing the Bellas, she realized that it was. He'd taken up residence in her heart the way no one else, including her family, ever had. She had to get him back.

Wearing her heart on her sleeve completely uncharacteristically because she had never put it all on the line for anyone before, she walked out on the stage with her Bellas and gave the performance of a lifetime. She saw him smile and raise his fist in the air when she sang to him and her heart skipped a beat. She began to hope that she hadn't lost him. By the end of the performance, she saw he was one of the first people who stood up to clap for them, his smile took her breath away and she was impatient to get to him. Once they had all taken their bow and left the stage, she made a bee line for her seat, even forgetting to give the stage hand her microphone.

Her eyes were locked on one person and she had a one-track mind, nothing was going to stop her now. She dropped the mic in the seat as she walked up to him, his smile and warm voice welcoming her with, "I told you endings are the best part."

"You're such a weirdo," she said with an answering smile as she pulled him close and pressed her lips to his for the first time. The explosion in her chest and the feeling that radiated down her limbs when she felt his hand on her waist holding her close to him as he kissed her back made her realize that she was completely head over heels in love with him which both thrilled and terrified her at the same time. The intensity of such an emotion after never truly having felt it before was almost too much. Almost. And if it had been anyone other than Jesse to whom these foreign feelings were directed, she might have run, but she was done running from him.

After hearing that the Bellas had won the ICCAs for the first time in history, Jesse was the first one to congratulate her. He looked like he wanted to kiss her again but he wasn't sure of himself and she found that rather adorable since she really wanted him to kiss her again, but then the opportunity for a kiss really didn't present itself for a while. He stood next to her, his hand holding hers as she intertwined their fingers, while both of their families congratulated them since she'd won and he'd come in a close second per the announcers. Once the families had left and the Bellas and Trebles had all gathered in the lobby of the hotel to decide what to do with the rest of their evening in New York, Beca was quick to get Jesse alone in a hallway.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and crushed herself to him, rejoicing inside as his arms wrapped tightly around her back. "I'm sorry," she said into his shirt before he had the chance to say anything. Then she mustered her courage and pulled away to look up into his eyes.

He looked befuddled, "For what?"

She smiled at him, her heart pounding in her chest as she spoke around the lump in her throat, "For the way I treated you. For pushing you away. For not realizing sooner that you were right…and that I…"

He silenced her with a kiss, the one he'd wanted to give her for over an hour, since just after they had stopped kissing earlier. She parted her lips and let him deepen their kiss as her hands fisted in his shirt. His tongue touched hers for the first time and he felt himself fall over the edge of the precipice he'd jumped from, climbed up and jumped from over and over again for the last several months. He knew he loved Beca, he just hadn't let himself acknowledge that he'd fallen in love with her because to put it into words would have made it hurt it all the more. Until now. Now that she was his, he let himself fall over the edge willingly with no plans of ever climbing back out. He was completely in love with her and he felt like he couldn't possibly contain the amount of happiness he felt.

She pulled away only far enough to be sure she caught his eyes before she started talking again. "Please let me finish. I need you to know this before we go any further."

He looked back down the hallway toward the direction of their friends milling about as they all decided what kind of mischief they wanted to get into in celebration of the Bellas' victory. He was certain that someone was going to come looking for one or the both of them soon, so he had to do something because he did not want to be interrupted if she was finally going to let down her walls and talk to him. Then he turned his attention back to her, "This sounds important and I don't want you to be interrupted, so come with me." He took her hand in his and led her to the elevator. She followed silently behind and stayed quiet for the entire ride up the elevator to the Treble floor, which was apparently the same as the Bellas' floor as she noticed when the doors opened and he pulled her along behind him.

Her room was down the left hallway and Jesse led her down the right. "Benji will be enjoying his time with the Trebles so we shouldn't be interrupted up here. At least for a little while." When she didn't say anything, he began to over-think it and slowed his pace as he said, "I mean, if you are okay with being alone in a hotel room with me."

She giggled at him and then tried to suppress her smile, unsuccessfully. "Lead the way, please." She gestured with her free hand down the hallway to emphasize her request.

He just smiled, a little relieved, and pulled her along quickly behind him down to his room. He put the key in the card slot and waited for the green light before opening the door. He led her inside and put the Do Not Disturb sign on the door, hoping Benji would take a hint if he did decide to come up there for anything. He also put the slide-lock on the door before walking into the room, discarding his jacket on the dresser and sitting on Benji's bed, which was the one opposite where she was seated, his bed. There was only one tiny light on in the room and no light coming in from the windows, but they could see each other well enough with only three or so feet between them.

He put one leg up under the other one and looked at her earnestly, "You have my undivided attention."

The sparse light in the room caught his features just right and made his eyes sparkle; it leant a rather magical quality to everything and made both of them feel like anything was possible tonight. She smiled as she looked up at him through her eyelashes. "I want you to know that I know I don't deserve you." He looked like he was going to interrupt and she held up her hand with her long index finger extended, silencing him, "I know it was you that got my music on air; Luke is too much of a pompous ass to give me a shot on his own. I know you were the only one who waited for me to get out of jail and I was such a bitch and I didn't deserve your friendship then. I yelled at you when you only called my dad because that's what you would have done with your family. And you didn't know the relationship between me and my dad wasn't like yours is with your dad."

She took a breath and he looked like he was going to burst if he didn't get to talk soon. She grinned at his nervousness and then finished what she wanted to tell him, "I'm sorry I was so ungrateful for all of the times you had my back and I acted like you didn't matter. I had no idea how much you really do matter to me until you shut the door in my face." He stood up and took a step toward her before she put her hand out and continued what she wanted to say, "I know I don't deserve for you to forgive me, I don't deserve another shot with you, but I hope you can think about it because I've missed you."

He had stayed quiet for the entirety of her confession-slash-apology even though he wanted to object to so many of the things she'd said as he towered over her with her small hand on his chest while she still sat on his bed. When she stopped talking, he waited several seconds before he opened his mouth. He put his hand over hers and his voice caught under the lump in his throat that had formed after hearing how lowly she thought of herself so he whispered, "I never wanted there to be problems between us, Beca. I cared about you too much to not have missed you every single day we were not speaking," she winced when he said 'cared,' in the past tense and again at the reminder of the last several weeks. Of course, he noticed and reconsidered his words because they mattered now more than ever, "Because I care about you. God, Beca, I do, so, so much." The way he said it made it sound like he'd just declared his love for her and to tell the truth that's just about how he felt, but he would never say it so soon because he knew she would run.

"I care about you, too, Jesse," she said as she looked at the floor. "So much that it scares me."

His hand caressed her cheek and he moved her head so she was looking at him again. "Please don't be afraid, I have no intention of ever letting you go. I just want you to want to be with me, it's all I've wanted since day one."

And she knew he wanted to say more, she felt it radiating off of him from across the small gap that existed between them, but she stopped him when she stood and stepped toward him, wrapping her arm around his neck and pulling him down so her lips met his again. After a few moments, she pulled away and crushed herself to him in the tightest hug she'd ever given, pressing her cheek into his chest as her arms went around his waist. His arms wrapped around her back and she felt him press a kiss to the top of her head before he rested his cheek against her head.

She inhaled, filling her nostrils with the scent that was uniquely Jesse, warmly spicy with a hint of popcorn. Into his shirt, she admitted in a quiet voice, "I want to be with you, Jesse. I've never wanted anything more in my life." Even L.A., and when that thought had hit her, she had been the most surprised of anyone, but fortunately the realization had occurred days ago, so she could focus her full attention on the desired object of her heart and every other part of her body.

Jesse pushed her away and then leaned down to capture her lips again. One of his hands found its way up into her hair as he kissed her while the other which was on her waist held her close to him. When she started to push him back toward the bed, he stopped and she pulled away asking breathily, "What?"

"Nothing," he said with a smirk, "I just don't want to do this on Benji's bed."

She pulled away with shock on her face, feigned of course, "Don't want to do what?"

He stood up from the bed they were occupying, displaying strength she didn't realize he possessed as he carried her effortlessly over to the other bed a few feet away. He crawled onto the bed and lowered her back onto the sheets as he settled his weight on top of her. She felt her heart rate increase at his bold move. "Whatever it is that you want to do now."

Her legs wrapped around his waist so that he was stretched out over her and their torsos were touching completely. And his pelvis rested exactly on top of hers, so she could feel that he was ready for more, at least physically. She hoped he wanted this as much as she did, and although she was a little wary of rejection, she kissed him breathless to gain some courage and then boldly told him, "I want you to take my virginity now."

"Your…?"

She blushed and looked away, "Yeah well, I never really had an opportunity after prom night didn't happen for so many reasons." She heard him exhale and then chuckle; she felt the vibration in all of the parts of his body that were touching hers.

Then he realized what she said and looked down at her with concern on his face. "What happened at prom?"

She frowned slightly and looked away. "I'll tell you some other time. Right now, I don't want to ruin the mood."

Then she felt his hand on her cheek as he gently turned her face back to his, catching her gaze in his own. "I don't want the mood ruined either." He lowered his face to hers and captured her lips in a deep lazy kiss, savoring every second of contact between their lips and tongues. He especially liked it when he felt her fingers in his hair, holding his face closer to hers. Her hips started to move against him as they kissed and he felt his jeans becoming an increasingly distressing problem. His lips began to wander down her face, her jaw and onto her neck and the exposed part of her chest. He knew if he started removing clothing that would be it, he wouldn't be able to stop himself since he'd fantasized and dreamed about her for nearly an entire year. So he had to know because he wasn't going to be able to hold out for much longer. "Are you sure you want to do this?" his voice was muffled in her neck.

When she didn't answer right away, he pulled away from her and looked down at her with nothing but concerned love in his eyes. In fact, she saw so much love in his eyes that it almost scared her, but the response she had was not the one she was expecting. Instead of running scared like she usually did, she looked at him and tried to put all of the love she felt for him into her gaze as she admitted quietly, "I want you to be my first."

He smiled that genuine smile that she'd fallen for that first day in the radio station, "Good because I want you to be mine."

She didn't care really if he had been with another woman before her, but the fact that he was just as much a virgin as she was made this even more special, and made her want him even more, if that was even possible. She began to fiddle with the buttons on his shirt after removing his tie and tossing it onto the floor. But she was moving too slowly because after she'd gotten the first few undone, he reached down and pulled his own shirt up over his head and tossed it to the ground, leaving him in only his jeans and boxers since he kicked his shoes off as well. Beca ran her fingers over the defined planes of his chest and stomach. They were not rock solid like Luke appeared to be, but they were still very toned and oh so sexy. He was so incredibly sexy. She was too distracted by what she saw so she didn't even notice he was undoing the buttons of her shirt.

He pulled it up out of her pants and opened it up, exposing her lacy black bra before he continued kissing her chest and nibbling along the lacy edges of her bra cups. He wasted little time moving his nimble fingers to the button that held her pants closed. He looked up to her as if to ask for permission – she smiled and nodded – and then eagerly unbuttoned and then unzipped the offending garment. He pulled at the tight fabric to get it down her legs and got stuck. Then he climbed off of her and Beca protested. "C'mere," he said with a laugh at her frustration. She complied and he pulled her to her feet, and then quickly removed her shirt. He pushed her pants down her legs until he reached her knees, and then he gently pushed her down so she was sitting on the edge of the bed. He pulled each of her shoes off, tickling her feet a little when he did and then yanked her black jeans the rest of the way off her body, depositing them in the small pile on the floor next to his tie and their shirts. She took the same opportunity to divest him of his pants when he stood back up, letting them fall so they pooled around his ankles. She moved back on the bed as he stepped out of the jeans on the ground and crawled on his hands and knees up the mattress toward her as she scooted back slowly until her hand hit the pillow. She settled down and reached for him as he finished crawling toward her. Jesse settled his weight on top of Beca again because she quite enjoyed the feeling of his weight on her as they lay in his bed both clad in nothing but their underwear.

Although they both understood the mechanics of what they were about to do, neither of them had experienced it and so they had no idea what to expect. They took a little more time to remove each other's last pieces of clothing, kissing and caressing each other lovingly all along; Beca became completely naked before Jesse did. Jesse preferred it that way because he absolutely wanted to worship the goddess who lay beneath him. In fact, as he was taking his time kissing her breasts, she had to take matters into her own hands, or feet. Using the only limbs she had available, she hooked each of her big toes on the waistband of his boxers and pushed them down his legs with her feet. "Impatient, are we?" he grinned up at her.

"Jesse," she said, and that's all she said, but he heard her desire for him in that one word – his name – rolling off of her tongue like a purr. He claimed her lips so quickly that he almost carelessly entered her before he was ready. He did not want to hurt her since it was her first time too, but he lost control when she said his name like that. It took everything he had inside himself to stop kissing her. When he did pull away, she whimpered and looked up at him pleadingly. He looked down into her eyes and made sure to maintain their eye contact as he slowly sunk himself into her depths until their hips met, watching how her eyes rolled back into her head as she let herself be very much penetrated by a Treblemaker.

Beca's fingernails dug into his shoulders and she let out a guttural moan; she had never felt such an indescribable sensation as having a part of the man she loved inside her body. Jesse was having a similar heart swelling reaction to being a part of the woman he loved. His lips descended on hers and Jesse forgot that he needed to do more than just lay there kissing her until Beca started to rub herself against him in an effort to create the friction that felt so good. He grunted and buried his face in her neck as he pulled out and pushed back in slowly, his lips sucking on the sensitive skin under her ear, which he somehow magically knew made sensations bloom in the pit of her stomach that felt like molten lava spilling out of the sides of a volcano.

She writhed and bucked her hips against his as he rammed himself inside her, addicted to the tingles running across every inch of her skin. Her hands explored the hot smooth skin of his chest and back that had heretofore been unseen by her. She dragged her nails down his back as she kissed along his neck to his shoulder. She bit down when he changed position and she felt a sharp pain, tensing a little and gasping.

He stilled his movement, feeling like he was about to blow anyway, and pulled away so he could look down in her eyes, "Are you okay?"

"Yes…don't stop, please," she said hurriedly as she moved herself so he went in and out and rubbed against her even though he was still not moving. "You know what?" She pushed on his chest and his brow furrowed for a moment until she grinned at him and pushed him over on his back before climbing over him and straddling his legs so his erection was pointing up at her between her legs. She found it with her hand and he gasped as she lightly touched his tip, which was slightly sticky from being inside of her, and then moaned as his eyes rolled into the back of his head when she ran her hand up and down the length a few times. She gripped it tightly at the base for a moment and then stood up on her knees positioning herself over top of him. She lowered herself until the tip was just inside her and then put both hands on his chest as she hovered above him.

His hands found hers and she suddenly dropped down onto him, impaling herself. She let out a puff of air when she settled atop his lean body, wiggling her hips and eliciting a particularly throaty moan from him before she pushed on his chest as she drew herself up so she could do it again and again. His hands moved to her legs and his dexterous fingers kneaded their way up the tight muscles to her waist as she bounced on him. He grabbed her butt and pulled her closer to him so he could pull her down at the right angle as he pushed up into her to get as far into her as he could. He gripped her hips with an iron grasp that was sure to leave a mark as he felt himself approaching the point of no return. "Beca…" he rasped out in between pants.

Her pace increased as she felt something building inside the pit of her stomach and deep within her chest at the same time. As her body began to shake with the waves of her first ever induced-by-someone-else orgasm, she could no longer find the concentration to form cohesive words let alone sentences so her satisfaction at what he'd done to her came out in a string of incomprehensible nonsense as she collapsed against his chest. Lost as she was in the sensations, she hardly noticed Jesse's own mind-blowing finale.

As her pace had increased, Jesse had quickly lost the ability to control himself and just let himself go. His orgasm spilled out of him in waves and he shuddered and grunted with each release, his fingers gripping Beca's hips even tighter so she didn't pull away. When she collapsed against him, he dragged his hands up her back and held her close until both of their breathing had settled back down to a more reasonable pace. Neither spoke during the several minutes of afterglow they reveled in after being with each other for the first time. Life absolutely could not get any better than being with the woman of your dreams.

It was not until he fell out of her and she sat back up on his waist that he realized what they had forgotten. As she settled on the bed next to him, the length of her naked body pressed against him and her leg draped over his, he knew he needed to tell her and there was no other way than to just do it. His heart dropped into his stomach, but he hoped against hope that she wouldn't be angry with him. "Beca, I didn't…I don't…"

She knew what he was freaking out about, she wasn't stupid, but she had it mostly covered and she didn't want him thinking otherwise. Besides, she had actually been prepared because come hell or high water, she was getting him back in New York, dammit. But she had her reasons for not insisting, at least the first time. She leaned up on her elbow and put her finger on his lips, looking into his eyes in the low-level light. "Jesse, stop. It's fine."

"But…" he said around her finger.

"No, no buts. I said it's fine. I've been on birth control since I was thirteen for medical reasons. We can be more careful from here on out, but I wanted…I, I needed to really feel your body as part of mine this first time without anything in between us. I'm tired of there being things in the way of you and me."

Jesse rolled on his side, still cradling her body, so they lay facing each other. His thumb moved along her cheekbone as his hand came to rest on her face, gently cradling it. "Beca, I want to tell you something and I don't expect anything at all in return right now except I hope that you don't run away because you have to know by now that I am in love with you." He watched her reaction closely and when all she did was smile at him, he grinned and nodded in his adorably dorky way as he got carried away with himself and said, "So yeah, I said it. I want to shout it. I love you, Beca."

She was silent as she looked into his eyes for several long moments, the only sound in the room being the two of them breathing, and the deafening echo in her ears from what he'd said to her. She'd known that he liked her a great deal and that he cared for her more than any other guy ever had before, but love? Then her heart took control, because it was sure of what it felt, and her rational mind be damned, it was not going to let this opportunity go, so when she did finally respond to him, she couldn't stop the words that came out of her mouth, "This is difficult for me to say because the concept used to be so foreign to me. But that is the only reason because I know that I've never felt anything more acutely in my life. I fell in love with you months ago; I just was too stupid to realize it until you didn't want me anymore after I pushed you away one too many times."

He felt his heart constrict in his chest, "Beca, there was never a time when I didn't want you, when you didn't have my heart in the palm of your hand. Even when you threw it back at me, I know I just picked it up and handed it right back to you. But you hurt me when you push me away and wall up your heart like Fort Knox, so please just promise me you won't do that anymore and I won't ever shut the door in your face again, okay?"

She didn't want to lie to him and she knew she couldn't promise that, but she could promise to try her best. She put her hand on his face and caressed his cheek as she looked deep into his eyes. "I can't promise it won't happen anymore because I am more damaged than I think you realize and there could be times when I will hide behind my walls because it's my natural reaction to emotional things. What I can do, though, my love," she added in just for him, which earned her a lazy grin from the object of her affection, "is promise that I will try to resist as much as I can. And if I do put up my walls, then I promise to work on taking them back down as quickly as possible. And I promise that I will run to you as much as I can. Because I don't want you to ever think that I don't love you or that I don't need you. I do. I love you, Jesse, and I need you to be part of my life."

He hugged her closer and pressed his lips to hers. "You know what I think?"

"What's that?"

"I think we need to get back downstairs before they wonder where we are and come looking for us."

"I don't think anyone has any doubts about where we are after our performance tonight," she said with a lazy smile. "We can explore New York tomorrow; the bus doesn't leave for the airport until Monday morning." She snuggled closer to him, wrapping her arm around his waist tightly as she pressed her naked body against his. "Right now, I don't want to get out of this bed." He was happy to oblige, only moving to drape the blanket over the two of them to protect her privacy for whenever Benji finally did come back.

**a/n: My first contribution to the Pitch Perfect fandom, this is the first in a series of inter-related one shots that I'm writing. Please let me know what you thought.**


	2. The First Time Christmas Didn't Suck

**a/n: So, I meant to have this posted before Christmas, but I didn't. I had trouble finishing it because life decided to not give me what I wanted for Christmas and it kind of soured my mood…didn't want everyone to suddenly die in a house fire or something because my muse was feeling vengeful, so I stayed away. But, I finally finished it this morning and I hope it's good enough. Still not sure about the ending, but…it is what it is. Enjoy and let me know what you think!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pitch Perfect or its characters - Jesse (although I'd like to, but I think Beca might kick my ass), Beca, Dr. Mitchell or Sheila, but the rest of this little endeavor…yeah, it's all mine.**

Chapter 2: The First Time Christmas Didn't Suck

For Beca Mitchell, Christmas wasn't anything to be excited about. Quite the contrary, it was usually the worst time of year for her. Ever since her dad had left, Lisa Black-Mitchell had been terrible to be around because she was so depressed and angry. Beca tried to avoid spending any time with her mother, and especially during the holidays. Her dad usually invited her over for Christmas but she couldn't stand to be in the same room with Sheila, so she never went; the fact that her dad had left her and her mom to be with the witch made Beca want to not be around him either. So, she had started her own tradition of escaping both of her parents and spending the day by herself. And she really liked it that way. She didn't need people to buy her presents, she bought what she wanted for herself when she wanted it and the family thing wasn't necessary because of the drama it always entailed.

When Jesse first asked her what she was doing for Christmas, she had answered honestly and told him she would be spending it avoiding her family as usual. He'd taken her response in stride, having had about seven months of getting used to her unusual reactions to things he considered mundane. She loved that about him; that he took her for what she was without exception. She had not been expecting the next few words that came out of his mouth.

"Why don't you come home with me for Christmas?"

Beca had stopped dead in her tracks as they walked across campus from the radio station to his dorm late one mid-December afternoon. It wasn't that she thought spending Christmas with Jesse would be bad. Far from it, that idea was much better than being alone. She could spend a naked Christmas with Jesse and not let him leave the bed all day long. That was a very pleasant idea, but that's not what he meant and she knew it. She'd met his family once, and only briefly, at the ICCA Finals last May when the Bellas had won for the first time. They had seemed pleasant enough but they had also just watched her practically molest their son in front of hundreds of people in a public venue. Surprisingly, they hadn't seemed put off by her behavior, but she really hadn't been around them for long enough to gauge their real opinion of her. Going to Jesse's house with him, staying there for however long he intended to stay, with his mom and dad, she would surely find out just how much they didn't want her to be with their son. "Jesse, I don't know…"

"C'mon, Becs, it'll be great!" he said excitedly as he grabbed both of her hands.

She couldn't help but grin at his childish exuberance even though the thought of subjecting herself to what he was asking not in the least way appealing. "I don't think it's a good idea."

As he knew it would be an uphill battle, he was not deterred at all by her reluctance to agree. In fact, the fact that she hadn't outright said no was enough to give him hope. "Beca, my mom has been asking me to bring you home. Dale and Teri don't believe I have a girlfriend. Please say yes."

"But what if they don't like me?"

"Oh, Beca. Why wouldn't they love you? I do." She laughed as he wrapped his arms around her and he began to spin her around like one of his cheesy romantic comedies. They were still in the open but she had long since given up being concerned about PDAs with Jesse. He gave his affection freely and whenever he wanted to and she rather enjoyed letting him. Eventually though, she'd had enough of the spinning.

"Okay, okay fine. I'll go if you put me down!" she agreed with him. Surprised by what she'd said just as much as he was at how easily she'd given in, she had felt a rock form in the pit of her stomach that had stayed there for the two weeks between when she'd agreed to go right up until Libby Swanson had pulled her into a bear hug on the front stoop of the Swanson family's North Carolina residence.

"Oh, Beca dear! I am so glad that Jesse talked you into coming here for Christmas," exclaimed an older feminine version of Jesse.

Beca wrapped her arms around the woman tentatively. "Thank you for having me, Mrs. Swanson," she responded, her voice muffled by Libby's shirt.

"Nonsense! It's our pleasure, of course. And call me Libby, dear. Or mom, everyone else does. Well come in, come in." She pulled Beca into the house and then released her as she helped Jesse get the luggage in off the front stoop so they could close the door to the snowy weather. Once the door was closed, she pulled her youngest son into a very tight hug. Jesse was her baby and would always be her favorite even though mothers were not supposed to have favorites. It might be because he was born almost sixteen years after his next oldest sibling, but she'd had him all to herself for most of his life once the other two had gone to college and gotten married. And now he was all grown up in college and falling in love; and such a lovely girl too. Oh, she hoped Beca would feel welcome in her home because she knew how much her son loved his girlfriend. She let Jesse go and stepped back into the living room, not wanting to seem overbearing. "Now, Jack will be home in a few hours. He's still at work, but he's off for the rest of the week. Jesse, why don't you show Beca up to your room so you can get settled in? Dale and Teri and their spouses and kids will be here for dinner in about an hour."

"Okay. Thanks, Mom." Jesse would have taken Beca's hand to lead her up the stairs to his childhood bedroom but his hands were full of their two suitcases. Beca had her laptop case slung over her shoulder and her pillow in her hands and they managed to get everything up to the top of the stairs without any calamities. After they reached the top, he conducted her on a small tour as he waddled down the hallway with the two heavy bags. "So, this is my house." He nodded his head to left, "Dale's room," then to the right, "Teri's room." The two rooms they passed both had their doors firmly shut. Jesse stopped in front of a door that had a poster tacked to it with a large shark and proclaiming the name of the movie to be "Jaws."

He opened the door and she saw more posters covering every single inch of the walls. Well, every inch that wasn't covered by the massive shelf of DVD's he had on one wall. She laughed because of course he would have movies and posters in his room, "Nerd."

He closed the door after setting the suit cases down next to his dresser then stepped up behind his girlfriend, wrapping his arms around her waist as he leaned down and whispered in her ear, "You make it sound like a bad thing."

She turned around in his arms and wrapped hers around his neck, "Oh no, it is most certainly not a bad thing. I seem to have a thing for nerds." She pressed her lips to his and forgot for a while where she was as she let him monopolize all of her senses. It was not uncommon for their dates to begin this way, with not being able to keep their hands off of each other, removing clothes and replaying their first night together in various different ways, well before they had actually gone anywhere.

As inappropriate as her mind realized it was, once Jesse had her going, there was no stopping her until she had him. He knew that and he had intentionally locked the door so he could help her release the tension she was feeling before the rest of his family swarmed on them. He pulled her shirt off and pushed her down on his bed, suddenly very glad that his parents had let him upgrade to a queen in his junior year of high school. After removing her shoes and jeans, in that order, he made quick work of his own clothes and then crawled into the bed with her, both of them in their underwear.

Libby Swanson padded around the kitchen, watching the pot of bubbling potatoes on the stove next to the fresh spinach she would wait to boil down until just before dinner. The standing rib roast they did for Christmas Eve dinner every year was healing on the counter after being cooked for several hours. She would warm the meat up again after it was cut, closer to dinner. The bread machine was nearly done with the fresh loaf of country white. The only thing missing was…gravy! Where was the gravy? Oh, she needed to get to the store. She didn't want to run out of gravy in the middle of the meal with so many people counting on her. Turning the potatoes off so they wouldn't boil over or dry up, she decided she needed to let Jesse know she was going out, so she headed up the stairs. She tried the handle of her son's bedroom door and found it locked, "Jesse, I just need to go to the store to get some gravy. Do you kids need anything?"

Beca bit into Jesse's shoulder to stop the moan that had started to bubble out of her throat from the wonderful things her boyfriend had been doing to her with the combination of his fingers and his man parts. Jesse gasped at the pinch he felt from her teeth before mustering the voice to respond to his mother, "No, mom. We're fine. We're just taking a nap after the long drive, don't worry about us." He definitely sounded strained, but

"Okay dear," she answered.

Beca held her breath waiting for another attempt to intrude like her mother would have done, but none came. Jesse was still inside her and he still had his hand on her, deliberately flicking his finger every so often and causing her to gasp lightly each time. "She's gone, don't worry. Now where were we?" His mouth descended on hers as he started to move his hips again.

After having three orgasms in a row courtesy of the best boyfriend in the entire world, Beca felt elated and so relaxed. Naked Jesse was still in the bed next to her, but he had his eyes closed and was snoring lightly after the lengthy performance he'd just given. She let him sleep and decided that she needed a shower so she wouldn't feel like the wonton harlot who had done very dirty things with Libby Swanson's precious baby boy right under her roof that she was. Not a comfortable feeling to have during an already uncomfortable family dinner.

There was still ample light in the room as she dug through her suitcase looking for her shower bag and some clean underwear. "God, you are so beautiful," she heard the sleepy voice come from behind her.

She turned around with a smirk on her face and put her hands behind her back so he had a full view of the front of her naked body. "I thought you were asleep."

He yawned, "I was, but the real you is so much better than the you in my dreams, so I woke up."

She laughed and blushed from her cheeks all the way to the tops of her breasts. Then suddenly feeling self conscious since she was fully exposed but not in the comfort of one of their dorm rooms, she covered herself and said, "Well, you can go back to sleep for a bit because I want a shower."

"I have an en suite so you don't have to worry about running naked through the hallway. That door," he pointed lazily and then settled back against his pillows again because he really was worn out after his brief marathon. Beca walked inside carrying her clothes and bathroom supplies with her and closed the door behind her. Jesse tossed a corner of his comforter over most of his lower body so he wouldn't get cold and closed his eyes, drifting off into a restful sleep.

About half an hour later, Beca emerged from the bathroom, neatly dressed with her hair dried and makeup redone to her usual perfection. She stashed her bathroom stuff in her suit case and then turned around to see if Jesse was still in the room. What she saw took her breath away. Cold winter light streamed into the room through the sheer curtains illuminating the well-muscled body of her completely nude boyfriend who was passed out on top of the comforter on his bed. His legs crossed at the ankles, a tiny corner of the blanket barely covering his pelvis, his hands behind his head with a contented smile on his face as he dozed, Jesse was a real life vision of something she'd seen in her dreams a few times. God, he was gorgeous. She wanted to run her hands all over his smooth hot skin, feel the planes of his chest and back, climb atop him and ride him until dawn… She was going to need a cold shower to calm herself back down again if she didn't get him dressed and quickly.

Grabbing his clothes from the floor, she tossed them on top of him, waking him up in the process. "Oof," he said as he sat up rapidly. He was momentarily dizzy from the rapid ascent of his head and had to sit still for a moment to calm down before he could stand up. When he did, the clothes fell to the floor and he stood in front of Beca with not a stitch covering his body.

"Jesse," Beca warned from across the room. She, of course, did not mind the view, but he was seriously distracting her from the goal of not wreaking of sex when they had dinner in less than an hour.

"What?" he asked innocently. He ran his hands through his hair and stretched thoroughly before finally relenting and putting his boxers on. Once he had his jeans back on along with his socks and shoes, he walked toward Beca, still shirtless (intentionally) and pulled her into his arms. "Beca, look at me." She looked up and settled her hands on his bare chest as she locked eyes with him. "I love you. You have nothing to worry about from the rest of my family. They will love you too. I wanted to take your mind off of your nervousness but I seem to have just added to it. I'm sorry."

"Oh, Jesse. You have nothing to be sorry for. You helped me release so much tension. But then I started thinking about your mom smelling sex on me and knowing what we did and then she'll start thinking I'm just some slut who wants you for sex but I just want her to like me since I love you so much and…"

He cut her off with a kiss, gentle and loving, not heated or demanding like earlier. Her hands slid up his chest and wrapped around his neck, her fingers finding their way up into his hair as his lips worked their magic on the last of her nerves. When she pulled away, she pressed her lips to his one more time in a chaste kiss before stepping out of his arms and toward the door. "Come on, I'm sure there's more Swansons for me to meet down there by now."

He laughed lightly. "You're probably right. Teri and Dale should be here with their families by now." Putting his shirt on, he stepped forward and took her hand before opening the door and leading her back down the stairs.

"Jesse! Hey lil' bro!" a shorter woman who had Jesse's nose and eye color but otherwise didn't look a thing like him said as she came up and wrapped the youngest Swanson in a tight hug.

"Hey Teri. How have you been?"

"Great. Don't know if mom told you but you're gonna be an uncle again in about seven months!"

Jesse's eyes widened. His sister had three kids already, two five year old twin girls and a three month old boy. He did the math in his head. They probably hadn't waited the whole six weeks after Joshua was born before conceiving again. "Dang, sis. You guys haven't figured out what causes that yet?"

She laughed. "Michael wants a big family. I'm not getting any younger!"

"Well I'm happy for you. Do you know what you're having yet?"

"Nope. Too early."

A taller, more muscular and bearded version of Jesse stepped forward and made a bee-line for Beca. "Jesse, aren't you going to introduce us to this lovely lady?"

Jesse quickly stepped back to Beca and wrapped an arm around her waist. "Dale, stop. You'll freak her out." Beca elbowed Jesse in the side. "Oof." His family laughed at him and Beca joined in, grateful to have a crowd of people who liked to give Jesse crap as much as she did. "Oh, fine, fine. Everyone gang up on the little guy."

"Big baby," Beca teased.

"I like her already," Dale said as he stepped forward and took Beca's hand in his, picking it up to kiss the back of her knuckles.

Jesse pulled her hand out of his older brother's grasp and wrapped his arm around her shoulders as he spoke up, "Everyone, this is my girlfriend, Beca."

"Hi," she said and gave a small wave as she looked around the room at the several faces all looking back at her. Dale, of course, she knew since he'd introduced himself, and Teri, too, because she'd jumped on Jesse when they'd come down stairs. The others, she guessed. The red head with glasses and a thick goatee that towered over all the other people in the room who was holding a tiny baby and surrounded by two little girls with equally fiery red hair, she assumed was Teri's husband, Michael. The raven haired beauty sitting on the couch with the striking blue eyes glaring a little jealously at Beca because of the attention her husband had just given her, she assumed to be Victoria. Jesse had told her about his siblings and their families on the trip up so she would know who they were.

As the course of the evening progressed, Beca found that she had easy friendships with all of the Swansons. Libby and Jack liked Beca because she made their son happy, even if she had made him miserable at first. They both knew that sometimes it is best to forget the folly of the past for the sake of happiness of the present and future. Michael, Dale and Victoria all quickly decided that Beca was perfect for Jesse and made every effort to make her feel welcome.

Teri was the only one who was slightly reserved. After dinner, Teri said she was going to clear the table so the rest of the family could relax. Beca offered to help and Teri agreed. Once they were in the kitchen, she cornered Beca by the refrigerator. "What do you want with my brother?"

"Excuse me?" Beca asked, a little defensively, side stepping so she wasn't boxed in.

"You're the one that had him looking like someone stole all his movies during spring break last year, right?"

"He what?" she asked, and then shook her head. Of course he had been upset then, so had she. She'd been miserable that week, and the weeks that followed, so she could only imagined what Jesse had gone through. They hadn't talked about it. "Never mind. Look, I was an idiot and I pushed him away when I shouldn't have. But he's forgiven me for that."

"He has," she said coldly; it wasn't a question. She knew how much of a teddy bear her little brother was, so she had no doubt that he forgave her for whatever she'd done to him, but Teri wasn't so quick to let Beca off the hook. "Jesse is my baby bro and I don't want to see him hurt."

"Teri, I don't want him to be hurt either. To answer your question, what I want from him is to see him happy, whatever that means. As for me, I love your brother and I intend to be with him for as long as he wants me."

Tears welled up in the corners of Teri's eyes. She had been distraught at Jesse's decision to go against her advice and take Beca back after the heartache the girl had caused but she was glad to see that she'd been wrong. Beca was actually not the selfish bitch she'd initially thought when Jesse had been so upset all those months ago. "Beca, I'm sorry for being cold but I had to be sure. Jesse been hurt before but never by someone he loves as much as he loves you." Beca didn't know what to say to that so she just nodded. "Just be careful with his heart."

"I will." After another tense moment, Beca and Teri dissolved into giggles and resumed the task of clearing the table.

Jesse's heart was the size of a watermelon and he was sure that the smile on his face would be permanently etched there as he watched the love of his life getting along with each and every member of his family. Whatever they'd said to each other in the kitchen had seemed to forge a bond between his sister and his girlfriend because the two were inseparable after dinner. He couldn't have been happier that Beca was with him for Christmas this year.

As per family tradition, the entire Swanson clan slept under the same roof on Christmas Eve. Beca and Jesse stayed in his room with the door locked and welcomed the twenty-fifth in their own special way without the clothes that a family celebration would have required. Early in the morning after they had finally dozed off in each other's arms, Beca was awoken by a sound on the roof of the house. There was no possible way that could be what the childish part of her mind told her it was. She listened for a little while longer and didn't hear anything else on the roof. Deciding it had been a branch or something, she settled back onto Jesse's bare chest to sleep again.

Minutes later, the sound of muffled noises filtered up from the living room. Surely that couldn't be what it sounded like. Someone had broken in or one of the kids had gone downstairs for a drink of water or something. Anything made more sense than what she was thinking. She looked up and saw Jesse looking down at her with an unusual expression on his face. "Did you hear that?" she whispered.

"Yeah, wanna go check it out?" he seemed unconcerned. Beca got out of the bed and crept toward the door. Jesse slid off the mattress and put his dark blue terry cloth robe on to protect his modesty and then turned around to see the well shaped fully exposed back and buttocks of his incredibly sexy girlfriend bent over as she looked out a crack in the door. "Hey Beca," he whispered. She turned to look at him, confused as to why he had interrupted her surveillance. "I don't mind you walking around like that all day long but uh…" He tossed something to her.

She opened it up and saw that it was her black silk robe. She blushed as she realized that she was still completely naked because of their earlier activities and then quickly put the robe around her shoulders, tying the knot at the waist nice and tight so nothing stupid would happen. She opened the door wider and then looked at her boyfriend, "Come on."

He smirked and followed her out of his room and down the hallway to the staircase that lead to the living room. As they descended, he was unsurprised to see there was a light on in the living room. He expected to see his nieces and nephews soon too.

Beca stopped when she reached the lowest part of the stairs that wasn't visible from the living room and peeked down under the edge of the wall. To her immense surprise, walking around in the living room wearing a bright red coat with white fur trim and a black leather belt and boots and humming Christmas tunes was Santa Claus. White hair and beard, big belly and rosy cheeks, Beca had to look twice but it did not take her long to figure out what she was seeing. "Is that your dad?" she whispered in Jesse's ear.

Jesse smiled and gave his girlfriend's hand a squeeze. "Yeah." Beca gave him a funny smile so he explained, "He does it for the kids." As sure as he said something, they heard several sets of tiny footsteps approaching.

"Uncle Jesse, is Santa here?" asked little Cindy Swanson as she stepped carefully down the stairs in her cotton night dress, clutching the tiny teddy bear she carried with her everywhere.

Jesse grinned at his niece and then put his finger up to his lips. "Sshh. C'mere." He pulled the little girl into his lap and pointed to the figure in the living room. "Look, there he is. Jackie, Cathy, come here, come see." Eventually, Beca and Jesse were surrounded by all six Swanson grandchildren and there was more noise in the staircase than there had been at dinner the night before, but Santa kept on about his business as if he heard nothing at all until he had filled each stocking and set up several new wrapped presents under the tree. Once he had finished, he made a point of eating the cookies and drinking the milk that the kids had left out for the present provider himself. He let out a healthy 'Ho, ho, ho!' before he stepped over to the fire place.

Jesse squeezed Beca's hand and she looked at him. He motioned his head back toward the living room and mouthed, "Best part," at her. She smiled and looked back to the scene just as Santa dropped something on the ground which flashed and produced a small cloud of red smoke in front of the fire place. A few seconds later when the smoke had cleared, Santa was nowhere to be seen and there were suddenly suspicious thumping noises up on the roof. Before anyone could get up the stairs, they heard jingle bells flying away and then it was over. Santa sure did move quickly between stops. The little kids were ecstatic because they had, yet again, caught Santa in the act. It took Beca and Jesse several minutes of coaxing to get the kids to go back to their rooms to sleep until morning instead of stampeding down the stairs to dive under the tree.

Beca was impressed at the amount of devotion that Jesse's dad had to making the holiday special for his family. Her dad had never done anything even close to that for them. Sure, he'd trimmed a tree and made sure there were a few presents underneath, but he would never go to the effort she'd just witnessed. She was beginning to see why Jesse was the way he was and she loved him all the more for it.

They returned to Jesse's room once the last little one had lain down and closed her eyes. Jesse made sure to lock the door but before he could turn around, Beca stepped up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist as she pressed her cheek into his back. Without saying a word, he slowly turned around until he was able to wrap his arms around her. "So, what did you think?"

"That was great," she said. She pulled away and snagged his hand to lead him back to the bed. Without removing either of their robes, they lay down under the heavy comforter and she got comfortable again with her head on his chest. After a long while of not successfully falling asleep, she mumbled into the darkness, "I see it now, I think."

Jesse surprised her by responding, "See what?"

"How it's possible that you are such a generally happy person."

He laughed lightly, "What do you mean?"

"Your family. They're perfect."

He scoffed, "Hardly. We have problems just like the next family, but when it counts, we come together because we love each other."

"Yeah," she agreed because she couldn't think of anything else to say. Jesse was really blessed to have such a great family. A mother and father who loved each other, siblings to be protective of him and nieces and nephews to spoil; she was no longer surprised at his loving nature. Jesse's arms settled around her and Beca closed her eyes to let the comforting sounds of his heartbeat and breathing lull her back to sleep.

Later that morning, Beca awoke to cool predawn light streaming in Jesse's window. That was not what woke her up, however. Jesse was kissing his way down her chest and stomach. Beca's hands found their way into Jesse's hair at some point, but she wasn't capable of cohesive thoughts so she had no real recollection of when anything actually happened until well after he'd finished giving her the most mind blowing orgasm she'd ever had. God, he had a talented mouth. She would definitely have to return the favor later.

"Good morning, my love," he said as he crawled back up her body and out from under the comforter.

She sighed and smiled contentedly at him, "That it is." He leaned forward and kissed her. She wasn't all that into her own smell or taste like some but kissing Jesse was worth it, so she dealt with it. Once he pulled back, she looked up into his eyes. "Merry Christmas, Jesse."

"Merry Christmas," he laughed. "This is already the best Christmas I have ever had."

"I hope that's not just because you got laid last night."

"No. Well, not entirely. I mean just having you here. It feels complete."

She blushed and then kissed him because she was never good with receiving compliments, or knowing how to respond with anything other than an awkward 'Thank you.' She pulled back a few seconds into the kiss so it didn't escalate and said, "I need a shower."

"Me too," he responded.

She shook her head. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"I think it's an excellent idea," he said as he quickly got out of bed and before she could protest, scooped her up into his arms. With her squirming to get free, he walked into his bathroom and over to the shower. Knowing his parents had a tankless water heater, he climbed into the shower with her still in his arms and turned on the water with his elbow. He gasped when the water hit his skin and nearly dropped his girlfriend.

The squeal Beca let out was loud enough to have been heard in the neighbor's house as the freezing water hit her skin. Jesse had not been aware of the cold shower she'd taken after their first fun times yesterday. He put her down as carefully as possible and she retreated to the farthest corner she could get to while he rapidly increased the temperature of the water. Once he finished, he turned around with a wolfish-yet-sheepish expression on his face. "I should have checked the water first. I'm sorry."

"Yeah well, that cold water pretty much killed the mood."

"Did it?" He stepped closer and pressed her against the wall of the shower with his body, his leg slipping between hers so she couldn't escape. "I think we can get the mood back where it needs to be," he said and then captured her lips in a kiss as he lifted her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his shoulders as the kiss continued.

One thing led to another and it took much longer for the both of them to get clean but eventually they did emerge from his room, dressed and ready to open presents. They were surprised to find only Jack in the kitchen and Libby sitting at the breakfast bar that was part of the kitchen island. "Morning," Jesse said to his parents.

"Jesse, Beca. Merry Christmas!" Libby gushed as she got up off the barstool and rushed forward to pull the latter into a hug.

Jesse stood off to the side as his mom nearly suffocated his girlfriend. "Nice to know where I stand here," he mused which caused his dad to chuckle.

"I'm just so happy you're here to share this holiday with us, sweetheart," Libby explained as she released Beca and stepped back a little although Libby's hand remained on her shoulder.

"I'm very happy to be here with you all," Beca said with a genuine smile, ignoring her discomfort at the invasion of her personal space. "I don't have a large family so this is all new to me. It's been wonderful so far, Mrs. Swanson."

"Oh, heavens. You say that and I start looking for my mother in law. Please, dear. Libby, or mom. Either will do."

"Libby, let the girl breathe," Jack said with a laugh.

"All right, all right," the older woman said as she walked back toward the kitchen. "Do you kids want any breakfast? I made the traditional Swanson Christmas morning fare: cinnamon sweet rolls and orange sweet rolls."

"There's coffee too. You two help yourselves. I'm going to go set up the camera to record the kids." Jack walked toward the living room where the tree and presents were.

Beca sat down on one of the barstools and Jesse walked into the kitchen to grab a plate for each of the two of them. "I'll take one of the orange ones."

Jesse nodded and placed Beca's request on her plate and two of the cinnamon ones on his own plate. He returned to Beca's side and sat down on the stool next to hers. They ate their breakfast in comfortable silence and then Jesse stood up to put the two plates in the sink just as what had to be a herd of elephants came storming down the stairs.

Variations on "Merry Christmas, Granny and Grampa!" were heard all around from each of the six kids. Their parents looked only slightly less excited than their children and Beca didn't resist the urge to laugh at the entire situation. It was quite funny. Once the din had died down to a dull roar, Jack announced the existence of the breakfast goodies and the stampede began all over again. Kids rushed for sugar and adults for caffeine and Beca got out of the way with Jesse's help so she wouldn't get trapped in the crowd of bodies.

Beca was a little worried when she saw little two year old Shelly get knocked around but then her cousin Tracy stepped in and scooped the smaller girl into her arms and all was well again. In general, the older kids helped the younger ones get their food and the kids all sat down at the table in the dining room to eat. Beca marveled at how well they all got along. The closest thing she had to a relative was her half-brother Jamie and she did not talk to him, so sibling affection was out of the question.

In Beca's inspection of the parents of the children that had enchanted her so, she saw something she had failed to notice the night before; astonishing as that was to her because of how obvious it was now that she saw it properly. Dale's wife, Victoria was pregnant and very much so. In fact, it looked like she had a rather large beach ball stuffed under her shirt. Beca wondered how in the hell she had not seen that last night. She must have been sitting down the entire time; that, or Beca was just really obtuse. She knew Teri was pregnant because she had said something about it the night before. Dale and Michael both hovered around their wives while they all ate and drank coffee.

Before too long, the children were done and more than anxious to start opening the mound of presents under the tree. Jack and Dale played traffic director and made sure everyone had a space around the room with enough space to stack the gifts they received. The kids sat on the floor around the room but the two oldest, Tracy and Little Jack (older by four months, but who's counting…certainly not Cindy and Cathy, over whom he held this distinction), helped their father and grandfather pass out all of the presents to each person. Beca wound up with a few presents, Jesse had a large pile, as did the other adults, and the piles in front of the children were obscene. She was glad she and Jesse had decided on their presents to his family before they got carried away buying tons of stuff.

Gifts were opened and the children squealed, laughed and had more fun than any holiday she'd ever witnessed before. Beca received several iTunes gift cards since they all knew from Jesse that she loved music, not that she minded. Getting some new tracks for mixing was never a bad thing. Jesse's parents gave her some very expensive new headphones which Jesse had told them she wanted. And then there was Jesse who gave her a tiny box. When he'd handed the thing to her, her eyes went wide and she nearly fainted on sight. He seriously couldn't be doing that after only a few months of dating and right here in front of his family…

Jesse grinned, "It's not what you think it is."

Relieved, she opened the box and saw a pendant with a silver chain. It had an oval cut black onyx set in silver with a single silver stem extending on one side which led to a small curved silver flag that had a row of tiny shining diamonds set perfectly along the curve. The pendant was shaped like an eighth note and was no bigger than a quarter in size, the chain was small but not delicate, and she fell in love with it at first sight.

"It just screamed 'Beca' at me, so I had to get it for you."

She pulled it out of the box and handed it to him, turning around so he could put it on for her. Once he had, she looked down at it again then back at her favorite person. "It's beautiful. Thank you, Jesse." She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. A chorus of 'aww's' and 'ooooh's' filled the room and Beca blushed despite the completely innocent nature of the kiss. She used the embarrassment to dig under the pillow next to her on the couch to find where she'd stashed Jesse's present. The wide package was only an inch thick but the floppy nature of the thing had his eyes flickering with curiosity and confusion. She smiled at him and said, "I didn't want to encourage your movie addiction, so…"

He tore the wrapping paper and found a brown paper parcel inside the red and green paper. The parcel was tied with twine and he pulled on the string that undid the sloppy bow, removing the brown paper and finding a stack of nice parchment paper with a black silk ribbon wrapped around the middle, a much neater bow tied there. He looked up at his girlfriend and couldn't help falling in love with her all over again. He held in his hands a stack of pages with six blank double-staves on each sheet. At the top, in delicate calligraphy, it read, "Composed by Jesse Swanson." He had told her one night as they cuddled in his dorm room that he preferred to compose the old fashioned way – piano and paper. Electronic music programs were great for fine tuning it, but the main composition should be felt and written, not programmed. "This is…I just… Thank you, Beca." He forgot where he was and leaned forward, capturing her lips in a passionate kiss. It wasn't until he heard his dad cough behind him that he stopped. He pulled away from Beca's red face, his own shining crimson as well, and grinned sheepishly at his parents.

There was a heartbeat of tension and then the entire room burst into laughter. Beca included even though she hid herself in Jesse's shirt. After a few moments, the din died down and Jack stood up and walked to the sideboard that ran the length of one of the walls in the room to retrieve a small package. He returned to his seat and handed the box to his wife. She looked at it for a moment before she started to tear the paper off. The tiny velvet covered box was almost identical to the one that Jesse's present to Beca had been in but the contents were nothing alike. Libby opened the box and then looked up to find her husband kneeling in front of her. "Libby, I've spent the last forty years head over heels in love with you and I can't imagine life without you. I wouldn't ever want to. You've given me three beautiful children and a life that any man would be proud to call his own. Will you marry me again, my love?"

She gave him a teary smile and said, "I can't think of anything I would rather do more." Jack took her hand in his and slid the engagement ring part of the set onto her left ring finger. She wasn't wearing any rings on that finger because she'd been in a car accident a few years before and the set had been cut off and damaged irreparably. She'd just never gotten around to replacing it.

"Now, I hope you don't have any plans for Monday because we are getting remarried at church."

"Oh, Jack, you big sweetheart!" she threw her arms around her husband and he nearly dropped the rest of the ring set as he stumbled backward.

Jack managed to catch his arms around her and remain upright as he hugged his wife. "We're going on a second honeymoon, too!" Libby seemed to sober a bit and Jack knew exactly what she was thinking. "After Vicky pops, of course."

"Sounds wonderful," she said and kissed his cheek.

The eleven other people in the room who were cognizant of what was going on all watched the entire exchange quietly, little three-month-old Joshua excluded. Beca was in awe that two people could be together for forty years and still be as obviously in love as Jack and Libby were. That kind of love didn't exist in her world. Well, it hadn't before Jesse came into the picture. She looked from the parents of the man she loved to the man himself. He was still watching his parents and she smiled at him even though she knew he couldn't see her. Her hand came to rest on the pendant he'd gifted her and she felt so content in that moment that it almost scared her. She didn't let it, though. She wanted to feel this familial warmth and she was so happy it was Jesse who she was experiencing it with.

It was during this cozy scene that, of course, that fate decided to intervene. "Oh, owww," came a complaint from the back of the room.

"Mommy, are you okay?" Tracy asked as she approached the groaning woman.

"Ooh, oh, mmmmh," she replied and then took a deep breath as the contraction subsided. "Mommy's fine, sweet pea," she said to her eldest daughter before taking her husband's hand and squeezing hard to get his attention.

"Vicky?"

"I think Marcus wants to make an appearance today."

"Are you sure?" Teri asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm uh…my water broke." It was in that instant that the house erupted into a mass confusion of action. Eventually everyone including the delivering mother made it to the hospital and at two thirty-seven that afternoon, Marcus James Swanson came into the world at seven pounds three ounces, nineteen point two inches long.

Although the new addition to the family created a disruption and caused Christmas dinner to be delayed by two days, Beca still felt that it had been the best Christmas she'd ever experienced. Not only was she with Jesse (whom she was beginning to realize made everything in her life better), but she had also never experienced so much warmth and happiness during Christmas. It gave her hope that her future life had a chance to be much better than her childhood had been and that family could be more than just a group of people that happened to be related to each other.

**a/n: Don't forget to review! :)**


End file.
